This review may contain spoilers
Profound slice-of-life melodrama with outstanding acting, cinematography & symbolism
I really enjoyed watching and rewatching this melodrama. This is not a light-hearted romance and those looking for that type of drama will be disappointed and frustrated. On the other hand, if you are looking for a drama with lots of intense emotional scenes and thought-provoking uses of symbolism and imagery to explore themes of transition, personal growth, healing, trauma, and communication issues that many of us experience in life, I recommend this drama.
Park Jin-young hit it out of the park with his acting. It was a pleasure to witness how he has matured as an actor: how he took on the role of Yeon Tae Seo, made it his own and powerfully conveyed the complex emotional states of this introverted character. Kim Min Ju took a risk with her first leading role which was a challenging one given that the POV was more focused on the ML. I applaud her for not playing it safe and she definitely showed how she is improving as an actor. I look forward to upcoming roles from both of the actors.
The cinematography and OST were both beautiful and enriched the emotional tone of the different scenes, both in the countryside and in Seoul.
The use of symbolism and imagery was an important element in this drama that I really appreciated. Some of these are particularly noteworthy. For instance, both of the main characters carried their "emotional baggage" throughout the drama (and they had a lot)-the ML's backback and the FL's yellow suitcase played an important role in many scenes. Another important image was that of the door to the FL's house in Yeonwoo; a door often represents transitions, personal growth, and new opportunities and it was used well in the drama in multiple scenes. The use of flashbacks that were prompted by seeing or hearing something such as a key in a lock or the sound of footsteps were also particularly poignant.
Since the POV was mostly focused on the ML, it was harder to empathize with the FL and the script writing struggled a bit in this respect. We witnessed the personal growth of the ML during the drama so that he could finally accept that he was worthy of a future and then take steps to shape the future that he wanted. One of the many compelling scenes was the one where he asked his friend "Will talking about it really help me move on?" In other words, is talking about our problems helpful since, like many people, he had held it in all these years and he could start to see that is yes, it is helpful to talk with others about our problems and issues and indeed, that is the way to healthy relationships. In contrast, the FL was living a life that had almost been shattered by the abandonment of her mother and suicide of her father. She was living but not really living. Ultimately, she needed to reclaim her "family" and her sense of worth before she could enter into a healthy relationship and she was able to find a way to do that towards the end of the drama but it was a frustrating journey to witness because she was really lost and really struggled.
The ending: There is an important conversation between the ML and SFL in episode 5 which indicated where the relationship between the ML and FL was headed. While speaking about the making of a frame, A-sol asks “Then can it be done quickly?” Tae-seo replies “No, you have to wait 3 more times”, “you have to wait for these three, no matter what”. (They are not just talking about making a picture frame). A-sol then says . . ."oh . . .3 moments of waiting” and again in episode 9, they discuss the the "3rd and final moment of waiting" . . .which is where the drama ended. Although the photos that the FL sent the ML at the end that showed the spaces that they had shared together in the different stages of their relationship including the school, the bus stop, the train station and his rooftop flat indicated that she was ready to enter into a relationship with him since she had healed and she was shining again.
Park Jin-young hit it out of the park with his acting. It was a pleasure to witness how he has matured as an actor: how he took on the role of Yeon Tae Seo, made it his own and powerfully conveyed the complex emotional states of this introverted character. Kim Min Ju took a risk with her first leading role which was a challenging one given that the POV was more focused on the ML. I applaud her for not playing it safe and she definitely showed how she is improving as an actor. I look forward to upcoming roles from both of the actors.
The cinematography and OST were both beautiful and enriched the emotional tone of the different scenes, both in the countryside and in Seoul.
The use of symbolism and imagery was an important element in this drama that I really appreciated. Some of these are particularly noteworthy. For instance, both of the main characters carried their "emotional baggage" throughout the drama (and they had a lot)-the ML's backback and the FL's yellow suitcase played an important role in many scenes. Another important image was that of the door to the FL's house in Yeonwoo; a door often represents transitions, personal growth, and new opportunities and it was used well in the drama in multiple scenes. The use of flashbacks that were prompted by seeing or hearing something such as a key in a lock or the sound of footsteps were also particularly poignant.
Since the POV was mostly focused on the ML, it was harder to empathize with the FL and the script writing struggled a bit in this respect. We witnessed the personal growth of the ML during the drama so that he could finally accept that he was worthy of a future and then take steps to shape the future that he wanted. One of the many compelling scenes was the one where he asked his friend "Will talking about it really help me move on?" In other words, is talking about our problems helpful since, like many people, he had held it in all these years and he could start to see that is yes, it is helpful to talk with others about our problems and issues and indeed, that is the way to healthy relationships. In contrast, the FL was living a life that had almost been shattered by the abandonment of her mother and suicide of her father. She was living but not really living. Ultimately, she needed to reclaim her "family" and her sense of worth before she could enter into a healthy relationship and she was able to find a way to do that towards the end of the drama but it was a frustrating journey to witness because she was really lost and really struggled.
The ending: There is an important conversation between the ML and SFL in episode 5 which indicated where the relationship between the ML and FL was headed. While speaking about the making of a frame, A-sol asks “Then can it be done quickly?” Tae-seo replies “No, you have to wait 3 more times”, “you have to wait for these three, no matter what”. (They are not just talking about making a picture frame). A-sol then says . . ."oh . . .3 moments of waiting” and again in episode 9, they discuss the the "3rd and final moment of waiting" . . .which is where the drama ended. Although the photos that the FL sent the ML at the end that showed the spaces that they had shared together in the different stages of their relationship including the school, the bus stop, the train station and his rooftop flat indicated that she was ready to enter into a relationship with him since she had healed and she was shining again.
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